"Again?!"
Uchiha Ren let out a faint sigh.
His hands moved instantly through a sequence of hand seals—
In a single moment, he seized control of Senju Tobirama's body.
After all this time—
And Tobirama still hadn't learned.
Trying to fight me, Uchiha Ren?
Now?
You think you can?
Back then… sure.
But back then.
This is now.
"You bastard—aside from playing dirty, what else can you do?!"
"Come fight me head-on!"
"If you've got the guts, let's duel!"
"I'll split your head open with Flying Thunder God Slash!"
Tobirama couldn't move—
But his mouth kept going.
Ren smiled slightly—
And casually shut that down too.
"Calm down, Tobirama."
"Why so emotional?"
"You know what kind of person I am."
"If you're still getting worked up over this…"
"How can I trust you with something as important as Uchiha Madara?"
"The bigger picture matters."
"The capable work more."
"You're already dead—might as well keep contributing to Konoha."
Ren spoke patiently.
Step by step.
Guiding.
Conditioning.
Tobirama burned with rage inside—
But it didn't matter.
Because it was useless.
He was completely restrained.
Ren had locked down control over the Impure World Reincarnation body perfectly.
No loopholes.
No chances.
And every day—
He used Konoha's future as justification.
As pressure.
As… motivation.
Call it what it was—
Pushing Tobirama to keep working.
Relentlessly.
Unless Tobirama regained full control someday—
This would never end.
…Honestly?
Ren quite enjoyed it.
After a few minutes—
When Tobirama had calmed down—
Ren released control.
"Uchiha Ren…"
"You've got nerve."
"But remember this—"
"You won't always be on top."
"Thanks for the reminder."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"But you'd better speed up your experiments."
"Konoha's development can't slow down."
"…I… got it."
Tobirama compromised again.
For Konoha—
He endured.
…Besides—
He loved research.
He really, really did.
"Alright."
"Back to Madara."
Ren's tone shifted, more serious now.
"Compared to our internal issues—"
"He's the real problem."
"Infighting now would be idiotic."
Tobirama nodded silently.
(You started it…)
But he didn't say it.
"One—"
Ren raised a finger.
"We need to increase my strength."
"The Hashirama Cells project must accelerate."
"So when I face Madara—"
"I can at least survive a few extra seconds."
"And not get killed in three moves."
"Worst case…"
"We summon the First Hokage."
"Even if he can't win—"
"If Hashirama kneels and begs—"
"Maybe Madara will spare Konoha a seed."
Tobirama's heart tightened.
Ren sounded like he was preparing for death.
At this point—
Not going all-out on research would be inexcusable.
"…Understood."
"I won't hold back."
"I'll fully cooperate."
Ren nodded in satisfaction.
Good.
Sometimes—
You had to make things sound worse than they were.
Otherwise—
Tobirama might slack off behind the scenes.
And Ren wouldn't even know.
"By the way…"
Ren casually added—
"That Flying Thunder God Technique of yours…"
"I'm pretty interested."
Ah.
There it was.
Tobirama smirked.
"I already left the method in the Sealed Scroll."
"You couldn't learn it?"
"…I tried."
"I followed your method."
"Tried to sense the mark."
"Nothing."
"Then that just means you lack talent."
"Once you grasp the entry point—"
"You've basically learned it."
"You simply don't qualify."
Tobirama stood on the high ground—
Looking down.
Finally—
A chance to mock Ren.
"Enough."
"Forget it."
"I'll pass."
"Not that I won't teach you."
"But without talent—"
"It's pointless."
…Delightful.
Tobirama felt his frustration melting away.
Rare.
Seeing Ren fail at something.
Ren rolled his eyes.
(Just wait…)
Sooner or later—
He'd pull Flying Thunder God from the system.
And slap Tobirama in the face with it.
After that—
They returned to the real issue.
Madara.
They drafted several contingency plans.
The most effective one?
Simple.
Throw Hashirama at him.
"Madara!"
"You lost last time—"
"And now you're attacking while I'm gone?"
"That's beneath you."
That alone—
Would work.
Madara wouldn't ignore it.
Hashirama's taunt?
Direct emotional damage.
Critical hit.
He'd chase him immediately.
"That buys Konoha time to evacuate."
"We need drills."
Agreement reached instantly.
Under no circumstances—
Could Madara fight inside Konoha.
A full Susanoo—
A few attacks—
And the village would be gone.
"…Power like that is absurd."
Ren sighed.
"Having overwhelming strength really is nice."
Even Tobirama felt it.
All his intellect—
His techniques—
Meant nothing against absolute power.
"…Then maybe—"
Tobirama hesitated.
"…we persuade him?"
"Give up the Eye of the Moon Plan."
"Dragging the entire world into a dream…"
"That's no different from killing them."
"Reality may be harsh—"
"But it's still better than illusion."
Ren looked at him.
Then—
Shook his head.
"Tobirama…"
"Sometimes…"
"You're almost… adorable."
"We live at the top."
"Born into elite clans."
"Resources."
"Techniques."
"Opportunities."
"All things others will never even glimpse."
"Most ninja?"
"Commoners."
"They struggle just to survive."
"They become ninja—"
"Only to die as cannon fodder."
"And those who never become ninja?"
"They suffer even more."
"Hunger."
"Cold."
"Death."
"I gained influence in one year."
"Why?"
"Because I gave them food."
"Jobs."
"Even if I work them twelve hours a day."
Silence.
Heavy.
"They'd choose the dream."
"Over reality."
"…Madara's plan?"
"If revealed to the world—"
"He might become their savior."
Tobirama had no rebuttal.
Because it was true.
"…So we just let him succeed?"
"I still can't accept it."
"Of course not."
Ren smirked slightly.
"I won't accept it either."
"That so-called Infinite Tsukuyomi…"
He didn't finish.
But the disdain—
Was obvious.
Tobirama narrowed his eyes.
"…What do you mean?"
"There's more to it, isn't there?"
"There is."
Ren chuckled.
"It does give people dreams."
"But the real outcome…"
"…is something else entirely."
"If Madara knew the truth—"
"He might go insane."
"But even if I told him now…"
"He wouldn't believe me."
He stopped there.
Deliberately.
Tobirama froze.
Then—
Exploded.
"YOU STOP MIDWAY AGAIN?!"
"Say it!"
"What is the truth?!"
"What does it really do?!"
Ren smiled.
"Want to know?"
"…Yes."
"Too bad."
"I'm not telling."
"You mocked me earlier."
Tobirama's face turned red.
"YOU—!"
"You can't do that!"
"Is your heart black or something?!"
"SAY IT!!!"
Ren said nothing.
Just watched.
Enjoying it.
…So this was the appeal of being cryptic.
Not bad.
"…Fine."
"…Please."
"Just a little."
"I'll work harder."
"I swear."
"I feel like ants are crawling inside my brain…"
"I need to know."
A top-tier researcher—
Driven mad by curiosity.
"…Not yet."
Ren turned away.
"Even if I tell you—"
"You can't convince Madara."
"I'll explain when the time is right."
"That's enough for today."
"I'm heading home."
"I've got two beauties waiting for me."
"You stay here."
"And work."
"This isn't for me."
"It's for Konoha."
With that—
He left.
Tobirama tried to chase—
But was instantly restrained again.
"Take care of yourself, Orochimaru."
"I'm leaving."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Once Ren exited—
The control lifted.
Silence—
For one second.
Then—
"UCHIHA REN, YOU BASTARD!!!"
"You'RE NOT HUMAN!!!"
"CRYPTIC BASTARDS SHOULD ALL DIE!!!"
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
The lab echoed with rage—
But the soundproofing held.
Not a single noise escaped.
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